Second-harmonic generation from Z-type Langmuir-Blodgett films of a transparent dye and a comparison of the properties when the layers are interleaved with poly(t-butyl methacrylate)

Abstract

The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film structure of E-4-[(N- octadecyl-6,7,8-trihydro-5-isoquinolylidene)methyl]-N,N- dibutylaniline octadecylsulfate is non-centrosymmetric when the dye is deposited on the up-stroke (Z-type) and when the layers are interleaved with poly(t-butyl methacrylate). The second-harmonic intensity increases as I(N)2(omega ) equals I(1)2(omega )N2, where N is the number of active layers, and the intensity is further enhanced when the dye is mixed in a 1 to 1 ratio with octadecanoic acid. The second-order susceptibility and repeat lattice spacing of the mixed LB films are as follows: (chi) zzz(2) equals 76 pm V-1 at 1.064 micrometers and l equals 3.15 nm layer-1 when Z-type; (chi) zzz(2) equals 52 pm V-1 and l equals 4.13 nm bilayer-1 when interleaved. The films are transparent at the fundamental wavelength and have a slight absorbance of ca. 5 X 10-4 per dye layer at 532 nm. The second-harmonic intensity is the strongest to date from such a weakly absorbing LB film and this is attributed to the close proximity of the charge-transfer band and to an optimized packing arrangement.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.